In a recent mentoring call, one of the topics that came up was how other people have deeper connections with their gut than others.
I find this so powerful- to both notice and to acknowledge in one’s self.
I know personally it has taken me years to connect with my gut let alone listen to it.
I even came out recently of a toxic collaboration even after my gut (and my whole body) has been telling me to cut ties while for the past year and a half, I have been trying to make it work. (Duh, talk about not listening to my instincts!)
People who can tune in to the field are people who know where to focus their attention to. Attention is such a limited resource and being able to tune in to what matters is a strength.
At any given moment, we are bombarded with sensory information. From how we are feeling, to what we are hearing, seeing, and experiencing. We are constantly adapting to what is around us.
What gets filtered, put in the background, or brought to our awareness differs at every given moment.
Which brings the big question of “how do we decide what to pay attention to and what to ignore?”
So what does the “gut” have to do with this?
Ever had that “nagging feeling at the pit of your stomach?” Or that there is something you are feeling that doesn’t seem quite right but you can’t put your finger on it?”
That’s your gut working for you. What we feel in our body is already a result of processes happening in our brain. Our gut communicates to the brain and vice-versa. This gut-brain axis gives us the emotional awareness and intuition even before our brain had the chance to articulate it.
How to sense the field with your gut?
Here are some ideas to try:
1. Before you say yes or no to someone, add a few seconds of silence and stillness and check in with yourself. What is your intuition telling you? Do a body scan to feel where you are experiencing sensations in your body. Have you had these sensations before? And what did you do?
2. Pay attention to when your gut is telling you something. Hone your skills of sensing and attunement by listening to it more closely. Try to remember situations where you used it (or didn’t use it) and what effects it had in the situation. Try to recall how you felt and the context of that given situation. Are there patterns that you are noticing?
3. Notice if you are reacting from a place of fullness or from a place of fear. Are the sensations and feelings coming from a place of anxiety or worries? Or are they coming from your inner wisdom?
In sensing the field, we need to break through the noise and tune in to what is essential. We have such a powerful inner compass - our gut! And to sense what it is telling us can serve us in where to put our time, energy and attention.